Meet four high school friends - Haruka, Takayuki, Mitsuki and Shinji. Life's promise shines brightly on them until an accident leaves Harka in a coma. Her boyfriend, Takayuki, can't forgive himself and seems determined to ... more &raquofollow Haruka into a comotose state. Mitsuki dedicates her life to taking care of this tragic young man, and the pair falls into a relationship floundering in guilt. When Haruka awakens after three years, everyone must pretend no time has passed. Torn between his unhappy, real-life relationship with Mitsuki and the daydream high school romance with Haruka, Takayuki feels the tiny silver lining left in his life being mercilessy and methodically stripped away. Extra features include: 5 Uncut Episodes English / Japanese Language Audio English Subtitles&laquo less

Movie Reviews

IS ANYONE TELLING THE TRUTH?

Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 04/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's been three years since Haruka's coma inducing accident and even though she's awake, nobody has told her how much time has passed. It's not being done out of cruelty. Her doctor says that she might not be able to cope with the shock this close to her awakening and that Takayuki and the others should try to ease her recovery instead of making her condition worse. Luckily for them, Haruka is still a bit disoriented, but she's starting to put one and one together herself. Her parents beg Takayuki to continue his daily visits to the hospital because his presence has a positive effect on Haruka. The problem is that this starting to put a strain on his relationship with Mitsuki, Haruka's former best friend. In Haruka's mind, Mitsuki still IS her best friend, but Mitsuki is suffering from a great deal of guilt for taking her man, and also experiencing extreme insecurity as Takayuki and Haruka spend more and more time together. She has good reason to be nervous, because even though Takayuki says otherwise, there is still a remnant of love for Haruka. Akane, Haruka's sister looks upon all the chracters as horrible hypocrites playing with her sister's heart and decides to take action of her own to expose the whole charade.

Rumbling Hearts is a pretty tough show to watch because there is no way all the characters are going to come out with what they want. There are too many hearts at cross purposes. I feel bad for Takayuki because he has been put in an impossible situation. I mean, for all practical purposes, it was like Haruka was dead. Was he supposed to put his life on hold forever, never knowing when Haruka was going to wake up, or even if her condition would ever change? So he moved on after a powerful greiving process and hooked up with Mitsuki, who by the way, had feelings for him before any of this happened, but didn't want to get in the way of her best friend. So, of course, Takayuki wavers between the two girls. Is it possible to love two people at once? Some people would say no, but the human heart is more complicated than simple numbers. The show is not all gloom and is thankfully lightened by cuts to Takayuki's experiences working at a restaurant where he gets involved in slapstick comedy bits with two of the waitresses. No matter how sad things get, you can always count on some laughs during these sequences. The writers of this show have expertly sewn together the sadness, zaniness, and passion of life in Rumbling Hearts."